Business-hours placard



LT. McNlF-F.

BUSINESS HOURS FLAG/ARD- APPLICATION man FEB. 19. 1921.

Patented July 18, 1922.

ELAQ3EAES5.

J'OHN T. IltEONl-FF, 0F \VAIERPQURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNDR 'IO RAYllL'O'ND F. IE'IQNIFF, 0F WATERBUEY, CONNECTICUT.

BUSINESS-HOURS rtaonnno isa res.

Application filed February 19, 1921.

T 0 all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN T. MONIFF, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have" invented certain new and useful Improvements in Business-Hours Placards, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to improvements in devices of that class available for displaying information to the public, and more particularly information regarding the opening and closing hours of stores, shops and other mercantile establishments, such devices be ing well-designated business hours placards.

The object of this invention is to provide a placard of the character aboveindicated which shall be simple and inexpensive as regards its construction; durable, efficient and dependable in practical service; con venient in its application to practical purposes; and which shall possess certain welldefined advantages over prior analogous constructions.

The invention consists in the combinations, details and parts to be hereinafter more fully referred to and set forth in the claims hereto appended, and whereby the attainment of the foregoing object is rendered practicable.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig.1 is a front face view of a business hours placard embodying my said improvements, the initial contextual tab thereof lyingin registry with the plane of the body thereof.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of same, the initial contextual tab thereof swung forwardly and downwardly to cover the upper margin of the body thereof.

Fi 3 is a rear face view of the device the final contextual tab thereof lying in registry with the plane of the body thereof.

Fig. 4 is a detail face view, showing a frag. -ent of the transverse annulling shield made use of.

In a general sense my present invention embodies a body of card-board or the like, bearing general readable matter setting forth. more particularly the hours or period of time between or during which the users store. office, shop. or the like shall be open for business or closed against business, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18, L922.

seriarno. a iases, I

ters denote like parts throughout the several views, I make use of a body 2 of card-board or the like, and bearing general readable matter, such as This store will open at 8 30 A. M. Close at, said general matter being followed by a suitable hour-indicating medium, as the dial 3 and pointers"3'- 8",

shown in the accompanyingdrawing.

The pointers 3' 3" are shiftable on a'centering pivot l, each independently of the other and under finger-pressure duly applied thereto and into indicating registry with the respective hour-indicating characters afforded by the dial 3; and there is fur- :ther provided at the front face of the body aforenamed and for rotative action on or relatively to the pivot 4, a minor blinder 5, whose function, when duly manipulated, is to temporarily annul-as A. M., P. M., or A. P. borne by said body at the medial segment thereof covered or coverable by said shield.

Said body is further provided with opposite tab-holding clips 5'. 5". wberebv is de tachably held. transversely of the body,a medial annulling shield 6.

The back face of the body 2 bears general readable matter, such as To-day being a holiday this store. (or as the case may. be),

will be closed all day.

I further provide a group of contextual tabs 7, loosely attached as a group to the body 2, preferably at the top margin thereof and preferably by means of interlinking or attaching rings 8, each of the tabs comprised in the group thereof aforenamed. being reversibly shiftable, through the medium of said rings, in a manner to cause the same to traverse either the top front, or top rear, margin of the body 2 and thereby serve to temporarily annul that portion of the general readable matter borne by the top body margin so traversed by such tab.

The contextual tabs aforenamed serve each, not only to annul the general readable matter borne by the top margins of the body 2, as above explained, but to replace such annulled generalreadable matter with certain specific readable matter,as Saturday next, ll ednesday, Clerks Jlalf Holiday, etc.,conte2rtually readable into the general readible matter borne by the body 2 at either face thereof, said specific readable: matter being borne, respectively. by any appropriate number of the contextual tabs comprised in the general group thereof, and at either face, or both faces of each thereof, accordingly as the body 2 shall be provided at either face, or both faces thereof, with general readable matter, (s will le readily understood.

It may be found desirable at times to alone annul certain of the general readable matter-as, At 8:30 M., Closed,- borne, in this instance, by the body 2 at the front face thereof, and next following the readable matter borne thereby at the top margin thereof; and to facilitate the attainment of this end, I provide a trans verse annulling shield 6, suitably notched at its opposite ends and so rendered capable of being brought endwise into temporary holding engagement with the shield-holding clips 5, 5

lVith respect to the practical application of my improved placard, it may be stated, illustratively, that, where the readable matter borne by the lJOC y 2 suits, without change, the requirements of the user, his closing hour may be indicated on the dial 2% by setting the pointers 8, 3, accordingly, as in common practice, the minor blinder 5, however, being shifted on the pivot in a manner to cover the abbreviations indicating forenoon, afternoon, or 110011,. positioned within the field coverable by said blinder, and as required by the user.

Again Where certain of the r adable matter intervening between the. dial 3 and that borne by the top margin of the body to be annulled, shield Sis made use of as above explained, and in conjunction with the dial and pointers and the minor blinder of tJCf device, as also above explained.

Still further, where the matter borne by the body 2 at its top margin, at either face thereof, is to be annulled, or annulled and replaced by specific matter, that contextual tab 7 hearing at its reverse face such specific 'matter to be used, is swung, sepa rately, or togethenwith more or less of the remaining tabs, and through the medium of the rings 8, into place-at andin registry with such top margin of the body 2,-and so that the specific matter carried thereby shall be. readable contextually into the general matter carried by said body below its said top margin, the'dial, pointers and blinder aforenamed, respectively, being availed of, or not, as occasion may make needful or desirable.

it will be seen that my improved placard well adapted for the purposes for which it is intended, and further that the same may be modified to some extent without materially departing from the spirit and principle of my invention as set forth in and coming within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A business hours placard comprising solely a flat body formed from card-board and havingarranged thereon general readable matter, and a plurality of contextual tabs, the latter conjoined collectively by means of metallic rings with said body for a free swinging movement upwardly over and beyond the uppermost margin thereof, and bearing, respectively, specific readable ma ter readable contextually into the general readable matter aforenamed when caused, separately or more or less collectively, to traverse and overlie the upper portion of that face of the body hearing such general readable matter.

2. A business hours placard comprising solely fiat body formed from cardboard and having general readable matter arranged thereon at its opposite faces. and a phirality of contextual tabs, the latter conjoined coll ctively with said body for a free swinging movement upwardly over, in either direction. and beyond the uppermost margii'i thereof, and bearing, respectively, specific readable matter readable contextually into the general reiulable matter aforenamed, when caused, separately or more or less colleetively to traverse and overlie the upper portion-of either face of said body.

.3. A. business hours placard comprising solely a flat body formec from card-board and having general readable matter arranged thereon at opposite faces, and a plurality of contextual tabs, the latter conjoined collectively by means of metallic rings with said body for a free swinging movement upwardly over, in either direction, and beyond the uppermost margin thereof, and bearing, respectively, specific readable matter readable contextually into the general readabl matter aforenamed, when caused, separately or more or less collectively, to traverse and overlie the upper portion of either face of said body.

J OHN T. McNIFF. 

